Method of drying cylindrical articles



March 12, 1929. c. r. DRAPER 1,705,0813

IBTHD I0F DRYING CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES Filed July 28, 1924 9Sheets--Shee'rI l Mmh 12, 1929. T, DRAPER 1,705,084

won or DRYING CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES Filed Ju1y28, 1924 9 Sheets-Sheet 2C. 1'. URAPER mamon .or mmm cxmnnnrcAL Anrxicnns March 12, 192,9.

Filed July 28, 1924 March 12, 192g. c.- T. DRAPER 1,705,034

4 METHOD or DRYING CYLNDRIGAL ARTICLES Filed July 28, 1924 9Sheets-Sheet 5 Mauth 12,-1"929. T. DRAPER y 1,705,084

UUTHOD .0? .DRYING CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES .medJul-y ze, 19245' esheets-sheet e w l @S we lha im,

rme/ve'k March l2, 1929.

C. T. DRAPER unTHob 0F' DRYING CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES Filed July 28, 19249 Sheets-Sheet '7 '1 www gqsililiiln'iilqllrgglllllnlllml March 12,1929, c. fr. DRAPER METHOD' OF DRYING lCYLINDRICAL ARTICLES Filed July28, 1924 9 Sheets-Sheet B fia. 4A5.

Patented Mar. 1 2., 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES T. marian, or cLEvELAND, omo, .assionon To THE Daarna MANUFAC-TUBING coilPANY, or CLEVELAND, oHIo, .a CORPORATION '0F oHIo.

METHOD F DRYINQ- CYLTN'DRICAL ARTICLES.

Application illed July 28,

My invention relates to improvements in.

. of the article, while aiding in maintaining the evenness ofthe coatingduring thedrying process.

I shall describe my improvement as applied to the surface painting ofsheet metal barrels, although my invention is much more vcomprehensivein its scope, as indicated by .the .appended claims. Briefly describingthen, its instant application in `a preliminary way, I may say that thesheet metal" barrels are initially heated and submitted to the paintingoperation as to both ends and sides, either manually or mechanicallyapplied, after which they are placed upon an extended runway whereon theare supportedv solely yby their chime rings. This runway is providedwith meansA for slowly advancing the barrels from one en'd to the other,rolling them along their end supports in a heated atmosphere whichpreferably is in circulation and is adapted quickly to dry the paint.Means are provided upon said runway which are adapted to maintainthespacing of the barrels'and prevent their contact with each other andwith any portion of the mechanism that otherwise might mar the.appearance of the completed container. The initial portion of therunway comprises a dry-heater or oven while the terminal portionpreferably is open to. the circulation .of

air, whereby the painted 0r enamelled sur' facesofthe barrels aresufliciently vcooled to verted to, althoughfthese permit vof handling.without affecting their appearance. Preferably, elevating and loadingmechanisms are associated with the apparatus of my invention in order tofacilitate and cheapen the handling and are here adorm no part of myresent Ainvention and will not bedescribed in detail. p

The hatures, advantages and preferred mode of operation of my improvedmecha- *anism may now be explained'in connection 1924. Serial No.728,535.

with the accompanying sheets of drawings,

. wherein Figure 1I, is a diagrammatic plan View of the system of minvention and its associated. loading mec ianism. l

Fig. 2, is a longitudi ial sectional view thereof, on line 2 2, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3, is a. slightly enlarged view of the heating appliance; all ofthe figures on -Sheet 1, however',V being upon an extremely reducedscale.

F1g. 4, is a side elevation of the skidway on line 4 4, Fig. 1, on whichthe loadingl takes place.

Fig. 5, is a sectional View of the elevating mechanism associated withthe skidway, on line 5 5, Fig. 1.

Fig. 5a, is -a fragmentary view thereof upon an `enlarged scale.

Fig. 6, is a transverse sectional 'View of the furnace on line 6 6, Fig.1, while the re'- maining figures of thel drawings are upon materiallylarger scales to represent the details of the apparatus diagrammaticallyshown onv Sheet Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical section on line 7 7, Fig.8, showing the loading end of the conveyor mechanism. 'i

f Fig. 8, is a pla-n view of said loading .end-l of the conveyor', l

Fig. 9, Kis-- a plan view of an intermediate portion of the heatingchamber and conveyor on line 9 9, Fig. 10.

Fig. 10, is a vertical section thereof, on line 10-10, Figs. 9 and 11.

Fig. 11, is a transverse section on line 11- 11, Figs. 1 and 10. v Fig.12, .is a plan view of the discharging and elevating mechanism; thelatter being broken awa .v f

Fig. 13, is a fragmentary sectionon line l-l3, Fig. 12 illustrating-adetail of the guide rod anchorage.

Fig.`12. Y Fig. 15, is a fragmentary section on line i5- 15, Fig. 14. y

Fig. 16, lis a fragmentary view upon i' an enlarged scale illustratingthe action of the O Fig. 14, is a rvertical sectionV through thedischarge end of the conveyor on line lll-14,- 4

, on" line 17-17, Fig. .16. -f

` Fig. 18, is a fragmentary plan view of the adjusting retainingmechanism for altering the gauge of the supporting rails, and,

4 and 5, and the drying furnace d with the conduit da of theexhausting-system appear in Fig. 6 as diagrammatically related forcooperation, but require no specific explanation as these features aremerely adjuncts of the invention or improvements herein explained.

The conveyor mechanism comprises essen- Flg. 19, is a Vertical sectionalView similar. tially two parallel supporting rails g g exto Fig. 10,showing a modification of the rolls to accomplish both -thespacing andadvancing of the barrels..

of the Throughout the several iigures drawings I have employed the samecharacter of reference-to indicate similar parts.

Referring first to Sheet 1, 'it should be understood that the sheetmetal barrels are supplied to the system or apparatus shown atv theright, advanced longitudinally toward the left, after being suitablypainted or coated and transferred fromf the left hand 'or loading end ofthe apparatus to freight Acars or other carriers.

The diagrammatic lan View of Fi 1, is intended to show a eaten@ upon t eextreme right to which the barrels b or other sheet metalcontainersrings upon parallel rails extending through a heatedpassageway d, associated with a furnace and exha ting mechanism df foreffecting a circu vation of heated air throughout the said passageway inorder to effect rapid drying of the barrels. Since the barrels areinitially heated, it will be observed that those barrels. which' areexteriorly painted or enameled will be dried both interiorly andexteriorl ofthe protective coating, thus materially tion in the passaged.

The barrels preferably are supplied to a suitable conveyor, laterexplainedin detail, ,which rolls them slowly through the passager`way ina heated atmosphere which will effectually dry them, after which theyare exposed to atmospheric air, as at b, in `order to cool the heatedsurfaces, or chill the par-- atiin, if this material is used, prior toad- -vancing the barrels by rolling them upon the elevatingmechanism e.which delivers said barrels to a skidway f from which they may beloaded into the waiting freight cars f.

lThe .heater a is diagrammatically indicated in Fig. 3, equipped withgas burners a and a travelling belt f for passing the barrels b 'fromone end thereof to 'the other.

The elevating mechanism e shownin fragmentaryand reduced scale sectionsin Figs.

astening the opera-- The grooved supporting rollers h" readily i slidelaterally upon their shafts h3 which extend transversely from. chain tochain andl intermediately of said rollers spacing members h4 preferablyare secured upon the linkbarsin opposed paired arrangement.

It will be .understood that a system of the -character' herein shownmust be' adapted for these are to be terminally supported, preferably bytheir chime'rings upon the supporting rails, it is' necessary to maketherails relatively adjustable toward and from each other for the purposeof accommodating use with various sizes of containers and since barrelsand y,containers of various sizes..` The means for adjustingthe railsareapplied at intervals throughout the length of the conveyingmechanism, of which they form 'a part, and comprise a pivoted blade jhaving i. links j j respectively connected terminally with the twosupporting rails so that upon moving said blade about its pivot, therails Willbe separated or approximated with respect to each other untilsuitably adjusted for the particular size of container which is to behandled.' A bolt, as ja, may be inserted in anyA of the registeringopenings, as best shown in Fig. 18, for the purpose of locking the railsin' their adjusted position. Desirably, a lever j5 may beinserted withinthe socket j provided upon the blade j more easily'to actuate theY sup)o1-ting rails into their different positions o adjustment when the boltis removed.- -The grooved rollers It automatically conform4 to the gaugeof the supporting rails asv they readily slide along 'their' shafts inconformance with the adjustment of said rails, and in order to bring.transit from the lower tothe upper positions fof theconveyor chains.The upper ends of saiderods' are tensioned by the leaf-springs lc', saidsprings being .adjustably held at their outerien'ds by shackle-bolts 1cwhile adjustably supported links la and cfintermediately position theseflexible rods k;

Because of the fact that the conveyor chains are subjected toconsiderable variations in temperature, it will -be understood sprocketwheels and upper and ower posi-l tions of the chains being the same,although the shaft 'm for said sprocket wheel lm. is

rigidly journaled at m, Figs. 12 and 14, to afford suitable drivingconnections. This is provided in the electric motor wand associatedworm-drive n and gearing n of obvious mechanical construction. The motorn is of lowpower for the reason that the barrels merely are rolled bythe chain drive along the runway while the impelling chains aresupported by rollers in their upper and f lower levels so that littlepower is required.

The flexible rods o which terminally are n alinement respectively withthe upper and lowerA levels of the rail-supports for the chains, aretensioned by means of coiled springs o. and since the lower rails p areof lixed gauge, these rods serve to bring the rollers leaving the upperrail-supports g, g, into alinement with the lower rails p, p, as thechains leave the bottoms of the sprocket wheels turning in acounter'clockwise direction, as indicated in Figs. 12, 13 and o15.

A curved member u2 is provided intermediatelyof the rail-supports g, g,from which the barrels b are transferred to the platform q of theelevating mechanism. This comprises connected chains g travelling overdriven-sprocket wheels g up an v incline to the loading skidway, all ofwhich form no part ofmy present invention and require no detaileddescription.

The rail-supports g, g, desirably' may be formed of T-sections as shownin Figs. 11

- and 17, while'the lower rail-supports may be formed of angle irons;the vertical webs of .both sections engaging the grooved rollers h whichsupport the laterally'positioned' chains upon the shafts k3 while thespacing members h* serve lto maintaln the barrels b out of .contact witheach other as indicated is sulieient to prevent t e surface contact of'in Figs. 9 and 10. .However, said s acing members may be substituted byem oying larger wheels, as h5, Fi 19, whose diameter the barrels as iswell .indicated b the dotted line position of the right hand arrel.

Preferably, these supportin wheelsn for the chains are composite memerscomprising two separately journaled rollers as best shown in Fig. 17.One of these h, as already pointed out, is grooved to accommodate theedge of the rail-su port g, while the other roller, h", encloses t einner flange thereof and is adapted to bear against the chime ring b ofthe barrel; being frictionally rotated in a.: reverse. direction to theturning of the roller h in order to impel the barrel along the runwaywith a vminimum expenditure of'force. The simple and effective action`of these composite rollers will be understood at a glance by referringto Fig. 1.6. A sleeve 71.7 mounts thecomposite rollers h", It", forindependent rotation with respect toeach other.

lIt will be appreciatedthat the painted, enameled or paraiin coatedbarrels, as the case may be, preferably are continuously advanced alongthe runway and through the heated atmosphere of its enclosed portion byrolling them axially to retain or insure a smooth, even distribution ofthe protective coatings for the barrels. Suitable' protective coatingsare readily dried in the sa l heated atmosphere, or paraffin, forexample,

may be evenly distributed throughout the interiors of tlie containers,and upon reaching the open section at the oleft of` the 'runway, Fig. 1,the coatings will be cooled by the atmospheric air so thatthe completedbarrel may be handled upon the elevating and loading mechanism aspreviously. ex-iy plained. A-paraiiin or similar waxlike coating, 1twill be understood, is solidified rather than dried, but I have employedthe latter as a generic term descriptive of treating variously coatedcontainers.

The length of the runway, lobviouslv is somewhat dependent upon theparticiilar nature of the protective coating and heating is resorted to,principally for the purpose of hastening the drying operation andinsuring a better commerclal product. It will be observed that merelythe chime rings b of the barrels, Fig. 17, come into'engagement with therails, spacing members orv adyancing rolls, while the protective coating1s stlll -in Huid condition, hence the finish of the barrels is notimpaired or marred.

In this connection it may be explained that the chime rings of themodern steel .barrel have a burnished surface andv do not necessarilyrequire the protective' coating normally applied to the sides and endsof the steel barrel.

While my system has been explained and iop shown in some detail, Ivdesire to have it derstood that my invention is not confined.

to the particular mode of operation-or raci tice nor to the details ofstructure set` orth,

exce t as these may be defined in the appen' ed claims. i

Having now described apparatus adapted .forthe practice of the method ofmy invention and certain novel structural eatures of: -the particularsystem shown, I claim as while rotated to heat until their coatings.

"ing- Huidcoated cylindrical articles, which consists in subjecting saidarticles to a precoated drying, supporting said articles for. axialrotation in non-marking relation, .con-

tinuously rotating and subjecting the same havefsuiiiciently dried.

2. Theherein described method of'setting fluid 'coatings upon- -orwithin cylindrical farticles, which consists in rotatably supportingsuch articles in non-marring relation,- eifecting;- their, rotationwhile 'thus sup-- ported along ardrying zoneto prevent unequalaccumulation ofthe fluid body ap.-

plied thereto, heating said zone and meantimemaintainng said articlesout of contact with each other.

3'.A Theherein described methodlfor drying fluid-coated. cylindricalsheet metal articles, which consists in terminally supporting saidarticles, advancing the same by rolling them while thus terminally`supported along a. drying zone, heatingI `'said zone and meanwhilemaintaining said'articles out of`contact with -each other and foreignbodies until their coatings have dried.

coating to thesuifaces of said barrels, sup-, portingV them terminallyfor rotation and advancing the barrels by `rotating' them while thussupported, through an elongated heating zone, meanwhile maintaining saidbarrels outof contact with each other, and cooling s'uicient-ly dried.

5. The/herein described method for drying 'protectivelycoated sheetmetal containers, which consists in supporting 'such containers solelyby their chime rings while permitting their rotation, advancing saidcontainers by rolling them along a heated zone, maintaining the coatedsurfaces of the con- `tainers out of contact With'each other untildried, and -removing the dried containers 'rom'the zone and setting'the4coated surfaces.

6. The herein said barrels when their coatings are described method-ifm'treating protectively coated sheet metal containers, which consists insupporting such containers solely by their chime rings while permittingthelr'rotation, advancing said containers by rolling them along parallelterminal supports,. heating said containers .while thus rolled, andcooling said continuously rotating said article and passing it whilerotated through a heated atmosphere until the coating is suiicientlydried. l

8. The herein described method for finishing sheet met-al containers,-which lconsists in applying a protective Huid-coating to the surfacethereof, 'and continuously' rolling said containers through relativelyheated and cooled zones for setting the said fluidcoatings. l A

9. The herein described method for finishing cylindrical articles, whichconsists in linitially heating them, immediately applying afluid-coating to the surfaces thereof, rotating said articlecontinuously in nonmarring relation and passing it while ro-ltatedthrough a Aheated atmosphere, whereby the coating is subjectedinteriorly and exteriorly to drying temperatures.

10. The herein described method of setting exterior Huid coatings oncylindrical articles, which consists in initially heating and thencoating the articles, supporting them in non-marking relation, eectintheir rotation along a heated zone an thereby setting the coating byinteriorly and exteriorly applied heat. 1'

11. The herein described method for finishing sheet metal barrels, whichconsists in applying a protective' fluid-coating to the surfaces of saidbarrels, supporting them horizontally upon their chimes and advanc-- ingsaid barrels by continuously ,rotating them yafter beingcoated throughan elongated heating zone, meanwhile maintaining said barrels out ofcontact with each other and foreign" bodies to preserve their coatingsintact, and cooling'said barrels wheny their coatings are suiiicientlydried.

nos,

signature'. Y

cHRLEs T. DRAPER.-

